Marriage Registration under the Hindu Marriage Act or the Special Marriage Act

​How to register your marriage

While women spend a lot of time and energy planning the perfect wedding, they ignore an important detail that is aimed at their own protection. They forget about the paperwork formalising the union— the marriage certificate. An essential document establishing the marital status of a couple, it was made mandatory by the Supreme Court, in 2006, for every couple, irrespective of religion.

The idea behind the compulsory registration of marriage is to ensure that women are not left high and dry if they are deserted by their husbands. The certificate means the man cannot deny being married and avoiding alimony and maintenance. The procedure for registration is simple. Depending on your religion, you can either register under the Hindu Marriage Act or the Special Marriage Act, which differ in some respects. One, the Hindu Marriage Act sets a minimum age limit of 21 years for the groom and 18 years for the bride, while the latter places a minimum age limit of 21 years for both the partners. Two, the Hindu Marriage Act only allows you to register your marriage, not solemnise it. On the other hand, the Special Marriage Act serves both purposes. Let's consider the steps you need to take under the two Acts.

Hindu Marriage Act

To register under this Act, both the partners need to be Hindus. The first step is to apply to the sub-registrar under whose jurisdiction the marriage took place. Alternatively, you can apply to the registrar of the place where either spouse stayed for at least six months before marriage. Both partners need to fill the relevant application form, sign it, and submit it, along with photocopies of the necessary documents , such as age proof and address proof (see box). For proof of marriage, submit a certificate from the priest who solemnised the marriage. Keep in mind that both parties will need to disclose their previous marital status, if any. All the documents should be attested by a gazetted officer. Lastly, you will have to deposit a fee with the cashier and attach the receipt with the form.

Once the application has been submitted and the documents verified , the concerned officer will assign a date for registration, when the marriage certificate will be issued . The people who have converted to Hinduism also come under the purview of the Act, but will have to provide a certificate of conversion from the priest who solemnised the marriage, along with relevant documents.

Special Marriage Act

This Act covers both marriage solemnising and registration, and requires the same documents as prescribed under the Hindu Marriage Act. However, the procedure is complex. To begin with, both the parties have to give a 30-day notice to the sub-registrar in whose jurisdiction at least one spouse has resided . If you are marrying under this Act, you won't need to submit a wedding card and the priest's certificate, and the registration will take place after the wedding. If you are married, include the wedding card, if possible. The fee is again 100-200 .

One copy of the notice is put up on the sub-registrar's office board, and another is sent by registered post to both the partners. If either spouse is residing in another subregistrar's area, a copy has to be sent to him for similar publication. If there is no objection, say, from divorced spouses, the marriage is registered one month from the date of publication of the notice. In case of objection, the marriage officer conducts an enquiry and the marriage is registered after the enquiry concludes.

Document checklist

Application form signed by husband and wife. Evidence of date of birth. Proof of residence. Affidavit by both the parties, stating place and date of marriage, date of birth, marital status at the time of marriage , and nationalities. Passport-sized photographs of both and one marriage photograph. Marriage invitation card, if available. Certificate from the priest who solemnised the marriage. Certificate of conversion if either party is a convert, from the priest who solemnised the marriage. Affirmation that the parties are not related to each other within the prohibited degree of relationship. Attested copy of the divorce decree, if applicable, and death certificate of spouse if a partner is a widow or a widower.

Marriage registrations to go online from next month

Couples seeking to register their marriage under the new law - which makes it mandatory to do so within 60 days of the wedding - will soon be able to just go online. From applying for registration and uploading of documents, the process will be similar to the one followed for passport applications. An appointment slot for the final registration will be given and the couple required to visit the marriage registrar at the office of the sub-divisional magistrate for completion of the process.

The revenue department of Delhi government is aiming at a mid-September launch for the e-district project, beginning with north district, under which marriage registration will be the first service to go online. The state intends to issue digitised certificates in the long run.

Trial run of the new portal is on, and within the next one year, more services will be added. The e-district project is aimed at rooting out touts and middlemen and ending the chaos at the district offices. According to Delhi's divisional commissioner Dharampal for those who do not have access to the internet, the district offices will have e-district kiosks.

"The e-district project envisages integrated and seamless electronic delivery of citizen services by the district administration through re-engineering and automation of work flow, online verification of citizen data and integration across participating departments," explains Dharampal. He says the ultimate goal is to provide digitally signed certificates which can be authenticated online and facilitate capacity building and infrastructure improvement at district, tehsil and block levels. "The e-district will facilitate citizens to apply and access progress details through internet, IVRS and mobile phones," says Dharampal.

Besides marriage registration, the other services of revenue department proposed to be brought under the e-district portal include certificates for birth, death, SC/STC and OBC, nationality, domicile, handicap, income, lal dora and surviving member. Ration cards issued by the food and civil supplies department will be next in line. The social welfare department's applications for pension for the old, widows and handicapped persons will also be brought to this portal.

The UID-Adhaar number will be the basis for all applications and the data will be used to link up with other departments on the e-district platform.

Taking TOI through the e-district portal's trial run, deputy commissioner of north district Mona Sreenivas elaborated on the work flow. "The marriage registration process will involve logging on to the e-district portal just as one does for the railway ticket booking by making a login Id and password. The application for marriage registration will show up and the applicant will be guided through simplified fields. For instance, as a check to prevent registration of under-age couples, the form does not accept an age below 18 years," said the DC.

There will be a provision to upload all documents which will have to be self-attested. Once the submission process is complete, the applicant will be given an appointment slot with the registrar. Finally, an acknowledgement will be sent through sms, e-mail or a physical printout in case it is generated from the e-district kiosks proposed to be set up in the district offices.

The final registration won't take long since the registrar will already have all the documents, explains Sreenivas. However, at the introduction stage, the applicants will be asked to submit the hard copies of their documents as well.

Marriage registration to become mandatory

The Rajya Sabha on Tuesday passed a bill to make registration of marriages, irrespective of religion, mandatory under the Registration of Births and Deaths Act, 1969, which currently only regulates registration of births and deaths.

The amendment to the bill seeks to amend the Act to include the registration of marriages within its purview.

The Registration of Births and Deaths (Amendment) Bill, 2012, which was passed by voice vote, defines marriage to include marriage solemnized between a male and female belonging to any caste or religion. It also includes re-marriage.

Marriages already registered under the Anand Marriage Act, state laws or any other existing law are not required to be registered under the Bill.

Moving the amendment bill for consideration and passing, the law minister Kapil Sibal said the government will file a review petition in the Supreme Court against its earlier order in 2006 where it had sought to scrutinize the law after it was passed by Parliament.

"The Supreme Court had rendered this judgment in 2006 that the law once passed in Parliament must be placed before the court for scrutiny. We are not entirely happy with this direction...We will be filing a review petition. This part of judgment should be expunged," Sibal said.

Noting that there were enormous benefits of registering marriages, the minister said people should not be penalized for not doing the registration. There is "enough leeway" in the Act and state governments are free to make rules. The Bill is not quasi-judicial power for determining whether marriages are valid or invalid, he said in response to the debate on the bill.

The amendment bill will benefit women as the registration certificate would provide evidential value in matrimonial and maintenance cases and prevent unnecessary harassment meted out to them. It will also provide evidential value in matters of age of parties, custody of children and right of children born out of such marriages.

Muslim community leaders welcomed the move to register marriages, but with a rider. Zafarul-Islam Khan, president, All India Muslim Majlis-e Mushawarat (AIMMM) — an umbrella body of Muslim organizations — said, "This is a welcome move by the government."

However, the All India Muslim Personal Law Board working committee member S Q R Ilyas said registration of marriages should be optional and not compulsory due to social and legal reasons. "A large chunk of our population lives in rural areas where facilities for registration are hard to come by. Also, think about the poor. Unless the government ensures that marriage registration facilities are accessible to all, it should not be compulsory," he said.

Besides, Muslim marriages are solemnized by a qazi or imam. "The government should have a provision to recognize the qazi or the imam who issues the nikahnama," said Ilyas.

Now, pay Rs 10,000 and get your marriage certificate within 24 hours

Like passports and rail tickets, you can now get a marriage registration certificate issued within 24 hours, using 'tatkal' service.

The revenue department of Delhi government has introduced tatkal service ensuring a single-day authorization of marriages under which the registration process will be undertaken on priority.

"In compliance with a Supreme Court order in 2006, Delhi government had made mandatory the registration of marriage within 60 days of tying the nuptial knot. The tatkal service has been introduced to provide the papers on priority basis to those who seek them urgently," Delhi government's revenue secretary Dharam Pal said.

"The service, which became operational on April 22, enables the citizens to register their nuptials and get a certificate issued within 24 hours on payment of Rs 10,000 as fee," he said.

While the government charges Rs 100 as application fee for registration under the Hindu Marriage Act, Rs 150 is levied under Special Marriage Act. Additionally, people pay around Rs 400-500 for acquiring certain affidavits that need to be submitted with the applications.

"We are also considering authorizing the sub-divisional magistrate to register marriages, which is presently done by the additional magistrate," Dharam Pal said.

A Delhi government portal ensuring transparent and hassle free registration process for applicants is expected to go live next month, he added. The portal will enable the applicants to download forms and will offer a step-by-step guide for the process. The users will also be able to check the status of their application, Pal said.

As per lieutenant governor Najeeb Jung's order, the Delhi (Compulsory Registration of Marriage) Order, 2014 will be applicable to all marriages solemnized in Delhi irrespective of caste, creed and religion of the brides and grooms.

"Any marriage solemnized in Delhi between a man having completed 21 years and a woman of at least 18 years of age on the date of solemnization of the marriage, with at least one of them being an Indian citizen, will have to be compulsorily registered," the order said.

As per the order, the couples will have to apply jointly in the prescribed Form A to the marriage officer in their areas for registration of their marriage. The applications will have to be accompanied by "documentary proof of age, citizenship, identification of the bride and groom, solemnization of marriage and place of their residence."

Documentation process simplified, no attestation required

The ministry of external affairs (MEA) has simplified the documentation process for passport application by doing away with the condition of attestation from gazetted officers.

Now, applicants need not take attestation from gazetted officers on photocopies of marriage certificates, passports of parents in case of minors, pension payment order, notification of retirement and resignation of a government official.

In 2000, passport offices had made a provision of self-certification for all other documents like birth certificate, educational documents and address proof.

According to a circular issued by the passport division of the MEA, applicants henceforth need to only attach self-attested photocopies of all original documents at the time of submission. However, all original documents are required to be produced at the time of verification or final processing.

The move comes in the wake of a directive from the department of administrative reforms and public grievances to review the existing requirement of affidavits and attested copies by gazetted officers while seeking any public service by citizens.

The circular has further clarified that affidavits viz., annexures A, C, D, E, G, I, K, and L have evidentiary and legal value and thus all the annexures (A to M) will continue to be accepted as prescribed.